Miami Heat: 3 game-changing trade propositions for the offseason

Miami Heat trade proposal 2. Kristaps Porzingis, Dallas Mavericks

This would undoubtedly classify as a make-or-break move by the Heat. While he’s still just 25, Kristaps Porzingis is owed $101 million over the next three seasons by the Dallas Mavericks. And although he has already been selected as an All-Star, Porzingis has played in 148 of a possible 311 games of the season, which includes missing the entire 2018-19 season due to an ACL injury.

In addition to his recovering from his major knee surgery, Porzingis has suffered a variety of other ailments since returning to the floor, thus damaging his overall impact. However it must be said, this past season certainly showed glimpses of the form Porzingis exhibited when selected as an All-Star during the 2017-28 season. In 43 appearances, Porzingis averaged 20.9 points and 8.3 rebounds, while shooting a career-best in field goal percentage (47.6) and free throw percentage (85.5).

In particular, Porzingis flourished during this past regular season when given more time on the floor, averaging 21.1 points & 10.2 rebounds over the 29 games in which he played at least 30 minutes. However, his numbers dropped off dramatically in the Mavericks’ first-round playoff series with the LA Clippers, posting just 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds despite his playing time jumping to 33.3 minutes per game.

This decline was largely due to the manner in which Porzingis was used. While he averaged 59.4 touches per game throughout the regular season, this dropped markedly to 35.9 per game in the postseason, with All-Star Luke Doncic taking complete control of the offense.

As a result, the 7’3″ Latvian’s overall fit moving forward has been brought into question, with Porzingis himself even expressing frustration with his role during the recent playoff series:

With Riley and the front office never afraid to swing a major deal, here’s a potential trade that could be considered, which works out financially on the Fanspo NBA Trade Machine:

Like the Kings’ deal, this would involve the Heat not only opting into Iguodala’s deal, but also that of Goran Dragic, who finds his way to the Mavericks to team up with his fellow countryman in Doncic. Additionally, as part of the three-way deal, Tyler Herro and Precious Achiuwa will head to the Indiana Pacers along with Andre Iguodala and a future draft selection belonging to the Heat.

In turn, the Pacers ship center Myles Turner to assist in replacing Porzingis in the Mavericks’ frontcourt. With the Mavericks receiving Turner and Dragic to upgrade their rotation, they in turn ship Porzingis and emerging swingman Josh Green to the Heat.

In all, the deal requires a lot of speculation on the part of each team involved and thus is one of the more intriguing propositions to consider this summer.